Full Circle: Daybreak
by azayana
Summary: She was the adopted daughter of an influential family who yearned to be free. He was a Prince and could never be free. But somehow, their encounter will affect not just their own fates, but also the fate of the world. [AU: Zuko x Katara]


_Full Summary_  
She was the adopted daughter of an influential family who yearned to be free. He was the Prince of the Lie Nation and could never be free. But somehow, their encounter will affect not just their own fates, but also the fate of the world.

_Series Summary_  
One predestined path already written in the stars. Two dreams to change the world. Three chances to make things right. Four parts of a whole, only broken. And eventually, all things come full circle.

_Pairings_  
Zuko x Katara  
Aang x Toph  
Sokka x Yue

**Important Notes**  
It's heavily AU. The whole Katara-being-adopted thing I mention, but there are other things pivotal to this story I don't. Aang is still the Avatar, but things are a little different (yes, he's in it, just not yet). The names for the countries are different, though you should be able to guess. Zuko has no scar, and Lady Ursa didn't disappear, which means his personality is different. Must of their personalities are slightly different. There was no war and is no war. I changed a lot, kept a little. It's a totally different universe, and is not, I repeat, not a reincarnation fic. And bending is still the same - totally identical, only some of the characters aren't aware of their abilities.

* * *

Sunlight drifted in through the windows, painting the room in shades of warm yellow. Katara sat in her seat, ill at ease and wishing that she could just run away to her room and hide and stay there. Her dress was uncomfortable, her jewellery growing heavier with each passing second and frankly, the whole idea of her getting dressed up for the Prince as a potential wife was ridiculous. Liè Nation and Shàn people did _not_ mix, even if she had been raised as part of the Qiáng Kingdom since she was seven.

Forcing another smile at the Prince and his Uncle, she swallowed her (too hot) tea, trying as hard as possible to make herself appear unsightly. She had no wish to be married off at fifteen to a person she didn't know. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the General Iroh nudging his nephew meaningfully, jerking his head towards the doors in an emphatic way.

Finally relenting to his Uncle's not-so-subtle suggestions, the Prince stood up.

"May I ask your daughter to show me around?" he asked.

Lady Xuan agreed immediately, a victorious smile on her face.

Katara choked on her tea. Accompany the Prince on a tour of the grounds because of her foster mother's insane flights of fancy?

"Mother…"

"If the Lady Katara does not wish to, then I don't mind," the Prince said hurriedly, a relieved look on his face.

She was glad he felt as awkward with the whole situation as she did.

"Nonsense! Katara would _love_ to give you a tour of the grounds, wouldn't you?"

She resigned herself to the fact that if she didn't agree, Lady Xuan would nag her incessantly for the next week or so.

"I suppose…"

"That's settled then!" Pushing Katara towards the Prince, the Lady's smile, if possible, grew even wider.

He offered his arm to her. She gritted her teeth and took it, trying to keep as much distance between them as possible.

* * *

She turned onto her back, staring at her ceiling morosely. Stupid mother, stupid prince, stupid intended engagement, stupid _everything_. She didn't want this; never had, but nothing would persuade Lady Xuan otherwise; she had already started spreading news of the twos' 'engagement' around. Katara knew that most of the girls in Gaoling would love to be her.

She just wasn't one of them.

"Dear! The Prince's Uncle is here! Hurry, you must come down and greet him!"

Sighing, she dusted off her dress and walked out the door as slowly as possible. Trying to delay the inevitable gave her a temporary sense of calm, though it was fleeting at best.

"Ah, Katara. I would liked to have a word with you about my nephew, if you will," Iroh said, beaming widely.

He was nice; Katara had surmised that much from the many otherwise pointless meetings between him and her mother, not to mention the ever increasing visits the Prince and his Uncle paid the Xuan household.

Once they were out of Lady Xuan's earshot, Iroh started. "Neither you nor Zuko are happy with this arrangement, I can see that. And I must be honest with you; the Fire Lord disapproves of this as well. The only reason he agreed if because of the fact that you are a Xuan in name, and then Xuan family hold great power, even in the Liè Nation."

"You're saying that I have to marry Zuko because his father seeks power?" she asked incredulously, her temper already fraying.

Iroh nodded.

"You are telling me this, and I thank you for that, but why?"

"Because I do not wish to see Zuko go down the same path as his father."

She stared. "You want me to cancel it, don't you?"

"_Try_ to cancel it, yes."

"I've tried. Mother won't listen."

"If you can find a way…"

"I would, I assure you. I have no great desire to be whisked away to the Liè Nation as a trophy wife with no real power. I've read the accounts of past marriages like that. While often as Fire Lady she has some influence in the beginning, it diminishes rapidly in time. Wasn't that the case with Fire Lady Ursa?

"I do not want to be one of those women. I want to make real changes. Being Fire Lady will not help me do so. General Iroh, you can see my problem. But I must wonder, as you seemed quite keen to set us up in the beginning."

"I believed my nephew might soften to you. It appears I was wrong."

Crossing her arms, she bit her lip. "I will try, but don't think this is for Zuko. It's for me as much as anyone."

* * *

Lady Bei Fong has invited Lady Xuan over to discuss Katara's developing (non-existent, she would like to add) relationship with Prince Zuko. The obviousness of the subject of their conversation did nothing to placate her, but it was a rare chance to talk to Toph.

"My daughter, can you believe that? The Prince, too."

"The spirits must smile upon your family."

Ignoring the pieces of conversation drifting up the stairs, Katara flopped into a seat beside her friend.

"Hey Katara," Toph remarked lazily, the two having dropped formalities a long time ago.

Katara managed a smile and scowled.

"Something you want to tell about a certain Firebender?" Toph asked, a slightly evil grin on her face.

"Not you too. It's just Mother and her fantasies again. Zuko and I don't feel anything for each other."

"Even though you address him by his first name."

"Toph!" Katara groaned, throwing a cushion at her blind friend.

Her blind friend caught it.

"You know if Lady Bei Fong ever found out about your being able to sense vibrations…"

"… I would be shut up here forever, I know."

"In a cage."

"Katara? I know."

"But his Uncle is nice."

"You're resigning yourself to it?"

"No. I'm trying to find a way out. I just need a little help."

Relaying the story to Toph, the expression on her friend's face said everything.

* * *

Later she would wonder _how_ she'd ever managed to let Toph convince her that running away was a good idea. She supposed she had been caught up in a momentary dream; a dream of freedom and escape. She didn't hate the Xuans - she was thankful to them. She just hated the world they lived in. It was a nice enough world, she supposed, what with its pristine surface beauty and all.

It just wasn't her ideal world.

She she'd written a letter of thanks, gathered a small collection of her personal possessions (her blood mother's necklace, a few scrolls and books) and fled into the night with Toph. They had enough money to last them quite a while, and ostrich horses to get to the nearest town where they could escape recognition.

In hindsight, it was a crazy plan, but somehow, it _worked_ (Katara felt slightly guilty for feeling so elated at that and so little regret).

They'd ended up in Wuxian, a little coastal province not that far from Gaoling, but not that close either.

And they'd learnt. Learnt how to blend in, how to earn money, how to get the cheapest food at market, how to get around town, how to, in short, _live_.

After all, everyone learnt sooner or later. It was a rule of life.

Katara found being a normal person refreshing, in some kind of strange way. Life was harder in some aspects, but it was easier in others. No social expectations, no arrangements and desperate power ploys, no whispered games of betrayal and backstabbing. Just day-to-day struggles of life and money and getting enough food. She sounded insane, but the trials of normal life where a pleasant break. As taxing as working a day job at a seamstress' stop was, it was easier than being locked away in a cage for most of her memory. Here, the women weren't quite equal yet, but the gap was closer.

She grew to love the life, and Toph was slowly warming to it as well, though Katara knew that it would be some time before Toph lost all of her airs.

Either way, she liked being normal.

* * *

"Be a dear and move this vase for me, would you?" Mrs. Wang said.

Katara smiled at the seamstress, obliging happily. Mrs. Wang was quite possibly one of the nicest people Katara had ever met. They owed it to her that they even had a roof over their heads, not to mention food to eat and money for their basic necessities. Moving one little vase was only thanks for everything she'd done for them.

"Uncle, I don't need new clothes! What's wrong with these?"

She stifled a laugh. Obviously some boy had been conned (or dragged) into their shop be an elder in an attempt to get them new clothes. It had happened before (quite frequently, in fact), so she was used to it.

"Go ahead and greet them, Katara. I'm slightly busy. Tell them I'll be there in a few minutes."

She nodded, and balancing the vase on her hip, moved to the front of the shop, donning a cheery grin.

"Hello, how might I help you?"

"My nephew need clothes," the old man said, chuckling. "He doesn't want any."

She laughed. "I can tell."

Frowning, she got the strange sense that she'd met this man before, though she couldn't place where. His voice was far too familiar. Brushing it off as a recurring visitor to the shop, she motioned for the sulky boy to step into the light.

"Let me put this down, and I'll be right…"

"_Katara_?"

She stared. "How do you know my-"

Gold eyes met blue.

The sound of breaking china echoed throughout the store.

* * *

**A/N:** The fact that they address each other with first names is important. This is set in Asia, remember? And if you've ever watched anime or are Asian, you'll know the significance of it. So if you know the significance, why exactly do they address each other with first names when Katara clearly wants nothing to do with the Prince?  
Oh, don't leave notes about the 'Mrs.' thing. I'm Chinese, I know that there's other words, but they would sound plain awkward if I transliterated them directly, and if I shifted the order around, they'd make no sense. I might use it in speech though, sounds less awkward there.  
Beginning of my massively AU series… Took me forever to just map out the plot, not to mention actually _writing _the chapter. Not a reincarnation fic, but more or less a series set in this AU I basically ripped off the Avatar series and then proceeded to modify. A reincarnation fic will roll around soon, just not yet. So many stories unwritten...


End file.
